There has never been a better time to vote Green. Proportional
Representation (PR) gives the Green Party every chance of winning seats
for the first time in a national election. Had PR been used in the 1989
European elections, Greens would have won at least 10 seats. If everyone
who voted Green in the 1994 European elections does so on June 10th, it
will take just one or two extra votes this time to elect Britain's first
Green MEPs. If you have ever felt like voting Green before, but didn't
because you thought we wouldn't win, vote Green now - there has never been
a better time.

There has never been a greater need to vote Green. The European Union
(EU) started more than 40 years ago with the ideals of peace and
internationalism. Over time these have been swamped by a relentless drive
for power and profits. The Single Market, the Maastricht Treaty and
Monetary Union have followed one after another. Each puts profits before
people and the environment. With every step economic control has been
centralised, giving ordinary people less and less say in the decisions
that affect their daily lives.

Greens want a very different kind of European Union: one where people
who are affected by its decisions are directly involved in making them.
Things that primarily affect local communities should be sorted out
locally. Issues that affect the UK alone should be decided in the UK.
Decisions that affect other member states as well should be made jointly
at EU level.

The EU imposes rigid uniformity on its members despite their many
social and environmental differences. Instead, it should help member
states agree minimum standards on matters of common concern. Individual
member states should be free to set higher standards without fear of being
taken to the European Court of Justice or being accused of erecting
'barriers to trade'.

The EU has many good intentions but these are contradicted by the way
it spends its money. For example, the Common Agricultural Policy consumes
half the EU budget. It promotes intensive agriculture that destroys jobs
and pollutes the soil and water. It generates food mountains. Often these
are dumped in developing countries at knock-down prices, undermining local
markets.

The Green Group in the European Parliament is at the forefront of the
battles to protect the environment and promote human and animal rights.
Green MEPs work tirelessly to bring democracy to the institutions of the
EU and combat the corruption of the European Commission. With Greens in
government in Germany, France, Italy and Finland, the Green Group has
powerful allies. It is time for Britain's Greens to take their place in
this growing international movement. There has never been a better time to
vote Green. GREEN VOTES COUNT.

The global market place

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created to promote global trade
and has the power to make legally binding judgements in trade disputes
between member countries. WTO rulings seek to reduce trade barriers.
Unfortunately, they frequently ignore social and environmental issues and
override national safety standards.

The WTO is pressing the EU to lower its safety standards on artificial
hormones which increase cattle growth. These hormones are widely used in
the US but are banned in Europe on health grounds. Similar rulings are
expected for the growth hormone BST which increases milk yields, but is
associated with mastitis in cows. The antibiotics used to address mastitis
have in turn been linked with cancer in humans.

This year the American Government, acting on behalf of the
multinational Chiquita corporation, asked the WTO to rule against the
preferential treatment provided by the EU to the banana growers of the
Caribbean. The WTO ruled in America's favour, awarding billion dollar
damages and ordering the EU to stop the practise. If the EU complies, the
economies of the Caribbean will be severely damaged, resulting in
unemployment and poverty.

Multinational corporations seem to be the only winners under WTO rules.
They have become too powerful and are no longer accountable to the
communities they operate in, showing general disregard for employment
rights, human rights, animal rights and environmental standards.

The EU Single Market and Single Currency have the same aims as WTO
rules.

The aim of the single market is to create an economic superpower able
to compete with the US and Japan. It is intended to remove national
differences by standardising rules on tax, health and safety, financial
institutions and so on. In this big economic experiment, engineered by the
Round Table of Industrialists, social and environmental concerns are of
little importance. The Single Currency will lead inevitably to the
centralisation of economic policies. The idea that this will meet the
needs of 350 million Europeans is fundamentally flawed. The needs of each
region in Europe differ too greatly and their economies, environment,
cultures and history are far too diverse. A Single Currency will increase
regional disparities and unemployment across Europe and undermine local
economies.

Only five EU member states met the original Convergence Criteria of the
Maastricht Treaty. Efforts by Govern-ments to meet the criteria led to
drastic cuts in public spending which, in turn, reduced vital services for
children, the sick and the elderly. Even if the Single Currency were a
good idea it cannot possibly work in these circumstances.

Official figures on inflation, unemployment, interest rates and debt
show that the UK economic cycle is out of step with much of Europe. The
tightening of monetary policy in Germany after unification in 1990 showed
that chaos can occur when unmatched economies are combined.

At times of recession, London-based UK Governments have failed to
protect the UK's most vulnerable regions from severe hardship and
unemployment. Operation of a single borrowing rate, interest rate and
currency can be used to help either those areas in recession, or those in
recovery, but not both.

EU policies have done little to reduce unemployment and the misery it
causes. With over 18 million people unemployed in Europe the lack of job
security and the fear of unemployment are daily concerns. For older people
and young men, especially from ethnic minorities, unemployment has become
far more likely. The increasing inequality between communities can only
lead to greater social tension in the future.

Unscrupulous employers are taking advantage of the lack of economic
security to strip away employment rights. Official Eurostat figures show
that flexible working practices in the UK have already led to the longest
working hours in Europe. The unemployed are being forced to accept any
job, no matter how temporary, poorly paid or dissatisfying it may be.

Our solution: satisfying and secure
work

Given the right direction - a Green direction - there is much the EU
can do to protect jobs, increase employment opportunities and reduce the
massive gap which exists between the rich and poor regions of Europe.

Greens will push for major investment in green industries like public
transport and energy conservation and a switch from taxes on jobs (e.g.
employers' National Insurance Contributions) to taxes on the use of
natural resources. This will create useful work, reduce pollution and cut
domestic fuel bills.

The EU structural fund consumes one third of the EU budget, money which
could be directed at providing satisfying and secure employment. By
redirecting the European Regional Development Fund greater support can be
given to local initiatives, making it far easier for smaller firms and
co-operatives to gain access to funds.

The European Investment Fund must be used to greater effect by
supporting Community Banks which, in turn, provide preferential rates for
socially and environmentally sound community projects.

The present tax and benefits system is very unfair. It overtaxes the
poor and creates poverty traps for the unemployed. Greens support the
phased replacement of these benefits and allowances by a Citizens' Income
- an automatic payment to everyone, made irrespective of any income or
employment, to cover basic needs. A Citizens' Income would give us all a
basic level of financial security and therefore the freedom to move
between education, voluntary work, caring roles and paid employment
throughout life.

The myth of economic growth

Other parties at this election claim that economic success in Europe
can be measured simply in terms of economic growth. We are told that
greater economic growth will create wealth which will trickle down to all,
and that one day it will even provide sufficient resources to tackle
environmental and social problems. These claims are a complete myth.

Each year, Eurostat publishes the official measure of economic success,
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for each country in the EU. GDP measures
total money spent. Unfortunately, it does not include any measurement of
quality of life or the deterioration of our environment. The Index of
Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) is a more complete measure.
Unsurprisingly it confirms that, despite an increase in GDP, overall
well-being has declined steadily in the UK over the past 25 years.

EU Commissioners and Governments have made economic growth a central
economic goal. This has led to some very damaging policies. For example,
huge subsidies have been ploughed into intensive farming. This has
increased GDP, but the harsh reality is that intensive farming pollutes
the atmosphere, produces foods saturated in poisonous chemicals, destroys
valuable wildlife habitats, and forces smaller farmers out of business.

Green economic policy is geared to fulfilling the needs of individuals
and local communities. It is based on the use of fair and sustainable
resources, and recognises that the environment must be protected at all
cost. It will help local economies to prosper and produce as much of their
food, goods and services as they can themselves. It challenges the
accelerating race towards globalisation and puts people, animals and
planet first.

We would use economic indicators like the the Index of Sustainable
Economic Welfare (ISEW) that measure our progress in terms of
sustainability and quality of life, and not just spending. With these
indicators, spending on social breakdown and repairing environmental
damage is subtracted from GDP. Long-term damage to the environment and the
consumption of non-replaceable natural resources count as negative
factors, increases in the income gap between rich and poor are judged to
reduce quality of life, and a positive value for housework and voluntary
work is included.

It is important that such sustainability/ quality of life indicators
completely replace economic growth as the headline indicator published by
Eurostat. Little benefit will be gained if they are tacked on to GDP half
heartedly, (as has been suggested by some economists).

Green, sustainable economic policies will require changes to the rules
of the WTO. Greens will push for changes to oblige it to adopt
internationally agreed minimum social and environmental standards to
ensure that participation in the international trading system is not based
on the exploitation of workers, animals or the environment.

People are being exploited in Europe. Animals are being abused. We need
an EU which protects basic rights for both, and our environment.

Discrimination and exploitation

A number of misguided economic policies have had harsh social effects
across Europe. In trying to meet the economic criteria for Monetary Union
many EU governments have imposed heavy cuts in public spending and social
provision. Increasingly, they are looking to privatisation as a way of
raising income, but this is threatening working conditions as well as
environmental health and safety standards.

We are concerned by the growth of discrimination, especially racism,
across Europe as social conditions deteriorate. The EU's current stance
against racial and sex discrimination is grossly inadequate.

While we welcome the creation of an EU citizenship we oppose the
proposal that only those descended from EU citizens should qualify. This
would exclude some who already live and work in the EU. We are
particularly concerned that these requirements will discriminate against
ethnic minorities.

In the continued drive for intensive farming, conditions for animals in
Europe are getting steadily worse. Countless animals are routinely
suffering in Europe's factory farms, fur farms, slaughterhouses and
laboratories.

Our solution: basic rights for all peoples
and animals

Greens believe that basic human rights should be guaranteed for all,
regardless of origin. These rights should be enshrined in the EU
constitution. The EU should become a signatory of the European Convention
on Human Rights. We want full EU citizen rights for all residents,
including 'guest workers'.

Article 6a of the Amsterdam Treaty should be strengthened to contain a
strong commitment to act against discrimination based on race, religion,
sex, disability, age or sexual orientation. We want it to include the
recommendation of the Council of Ministers calling for the balanced
participation of both women and men in public life.

We support the principle of a Social Charter and community-wide social
policies provided they improve the rights of people as employees, as
self-employed workers, as members of disadvantaged groups or as members of
groups subject to discrimination. Social entitlements, like housing, are a
basic right and should be available to all.

We insist on the right to form and join free trade unions without
restriction and to be protected from exploitation in the workplace. We
support greater consultation of workers regarding potential redundancies,
production methods and the disposal of subsidiary companies.

Greens oppose all factory farming methods and the use of animals in
scientific research. We will press for reform of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to allow implementation of animal protection
legislation, including strict enforcement of the ban on animal based
cosmetic tests. Full implementation of the 1992 Habitat Directive is
needed to protect wildlife.

Destroying our planet

We are a tiny part of the natural world but human activity is damaging
life on Earth at a rate that it cannot sustain. The aim of EU
environmental standards should be to stop the destruction of the
ecosystems on which we depend but too many of these standards have already
been watered down by powerful industrial lobbies and reluctant
Governments.

The UN expects 'greenhouse gases' to raise global temperatures 1¡C by
2030 and 3¡C by 2100. That is greater than in the previous 10,000 years.
In an attempt to combat this, the EU has agreed cuts in 'greenhouse gas'
emissions of only 8% by 2008. These cuts are too small.

The US Environmental Protection Agency predicts that the continual
depletion of ozone in the mid latitudes of the northern hemisphere will
lead to 200,000 deaths in the US from skin cancer.

According to Friends of the Earth, the UK has lost 95% of its
wildflower-rich meadows, 50% of ancient lowland woodlands and 140,000
miles of hedgerows since 1945. Official UK statistics put 25% of native
species of fish, insects and plants at risk because habitats are being
destroyed. Governments continue to ignore these pressing environmental
problems.

The problems are well understood, yet each year member states openly
flout EU rules. In 1998 the UK finally agreed to implement groundwater
directives when the threat of legal action was regarded as too
embarrassing because the UK held the EU Presidency!

Our solution: protect our environment

Greens see the EU's response to climate change as woefully inadequate.
If we fail to take responsibility and action now the world will be faced
with insurmountable environmental catastrophe. Recent studies show that,
to keep climate change within tolerable limits, CO2 emissions must be
reduced to 70% of 1990 levels by 2005 and to 50% by 2050. All 'greenhouse
gases' need tougher limits.

The Montreal Protocol committed countries to protecting the ozone
layer. With the ban on CFCs came a promise to phase out other 'greenhouse
gases', halogenated hydrocarbons (HCFCs). We are alarmed that member
states will miss current EU targets for HCFCs. These targets must be
strictly enforced and met by 2010.

Greens want our wildlife to flourish. The EU must enforce and extend
current EU Habitat Directives to protect all of Europe's biodiversity. It
is vital that EU funding and subsidies are only granted to projects which
meet standards set down in EU environmental legislation. This is crucial
where key wildlife habitats are affected. Our children must not lose the
opportunity of enjoying our beautiful natural world.

There are many schemes EU funding can support which will not only
protect valuable habitats but also provide secure local employment. Greens
will push for the EU to unilaterally cut energy and resource consumption
by improving public transport and investing in renewable energy and energy
conservation. This in turn will create more jobs at a local level.

Greens insist that EU environmental laws must be strictly enforced to
ensure that our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our
air is safe to breathe. The EU must take legal action against any member
state that flouts EU legislation with penalties reflecting the full
environmental, social and health costs.

Risking public health

It has become difficult to trust government experts when they so
frequently disregard public safety, and difficult to trust government
officials who have ever closer links to the industries they are supposed
to monitor. This was a major factor in the BSE tragedy and the main reason
why no one has yet been held responsible.

Greens have warned against unnatural production techniques for years.
We voiced our fears over BSE in the 1980s. Now there are real concerns
over the safety of genetically modified (GM) food. Green MEPs have
actively resisted GM imports because of public health fears. No long-term
health tests have been done. Plants which have been programmed with
selective toxicity pose a serious threat to wildlife and the biodiversity
of Europe.

Biotech companies are putting us all at risk by using inappropriate
safety testing standards to rush through their product trials. In 1998 the
UK Ministry of Agriculture was found guilty of breaking its own seed trial
rules, showing that even government officials flout official government
rules.

In 1997 the EU agreed a draft Biotechnology Directive on the patenting
of human life. Needless to say, the Directive was welcomed by the
pharmaceutical industry. Green MEPs argued that the concerns of virtually
all sections of European society had been ignored. We agree with
Greenpeace who deplored this as 'a leveraged buyout of Nature'.

Our solution: safe food

The EU must put public safety before potential commercial gain. Green
MEPs will continue to fight for better public protection in Europe. Greens
believe in the precautionary principle. Inventions must be proven to be
safe before the environment and populations are exposed to them.

Greens are totally opposed to the production in Europe of food or
animal feed containing genetically modified ingredients. The EU must ban
all GM crop planting in Europe. This will protect our biodiversity as well
as our organic crops. Organic crops offer a safe alternative to GM foods
and must not be damaged by cross-fertilisation.

The import of GM foodstuffs must be banned. Where this breaks WTO
rules, the rules themselves must be challenged. Greens are adamant that
people should know what they are consuming. Until GM imports are banned
they must be labelled. Any GM imports must be segregated throughout the
whole food production process from seed to consumer.

Greens are concerned about the over hasty development of cloning.
Regulations are needed to bring cloning science under control. EU
legislation must make it clear that no company has the right to patent
life.

Greens within the EU will fight to prevent animal organs being
transplanted into humans (xenotransplantation). There is a risk that
animal viruses could transfer to humans, but these could take generations
to show up. The precautionary principle must be applied. The EU must work
to bring xenotransplantation under international regulation.

Agribusiness

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
are costly disasters. They have damaged our soil and water, generated huge
food surpluses, and led to a collapse of fish stocks.

Like so many EU policies, agricultural and fishing policies are being
driven by economic priorities which favour big corporations and put profit
and increases in exports above all else. Production of food is treated as
just another industry rather than a basic essential for all our lives and
good health. At sea, floating factories hoover up life indiscriminately.
Ships from all over the world fight for dwindling fish stocks and, in so
doing, ruin many traditional fishing communities.

The CAP costs a staggering £27 billion each year. The subsidies it
provides encourage intensive farming which poisons our water with
agro-chemicals, destroys wildlife habitats, and erodes our valuable
topsoil as pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers strip it of nutrients
and large industrial machinery compacts it.

These unnatural farming techniques also cause widespread abuse of
livestock. Animals are not industrial products: they are sentient
creatures and do not exist solely for our use. EU policies should ensure
they are treated as sentient creatures.

The social effects are equally serious. The failure of the EU to
protect small farmers has pushed many out of business. According to the
Tenant Farmers' Association, the average income of small farmers in the UK
fell between 10% and 20% in 1998 alone. As our small farming communities
die, powerful industrial lobbies and multinational corporations take
control.

Our solution: sustainable farming and
fisheries

The production of safe and healthy food which does not harm our
environment or cause animal suffering is paramount and must become the
guiding principle for farming and fishing policies in the EU.

Some issues, such as the depletion of fish stocks, extend over national
borders. The EU has a duty to protect our common environment by setting
minimum standards. However, better decisions on agricultural support and
fisheries management will be made if they are taken at regional level. Far
greater help must be given to regional marketing boards.

Greens believe that price subsidies, which encourage intensive farming
must be progressively switched to support farmers' income, the agri-environment
scheme and rural development. This will create rural employment, protect
the environment and bolster rural communities.

Greens reject EU policies which restrict the varieties of seeds that
can be legally grown and so damage the biodiversity of Europe. Local
growers understand local conditions best. They should be free to decide
for themselves what to grow.

Greens will push for the 2001 Pesticide Directive to require the most
dangerous pesticides to be replaced by safer options.

Animals deserve better protection and WTO rules should be changed to
allow bans on the basis of cruelty. Greens want to protect animals by
phasing out factory farming, cutting the distances that live animals can
be transported, and banning live exports from the UK.

Pollution - out of control

Pollution from road vehicles is a concern to us all. Each year in the
UK, particles produced from diesel are linked to 3,000 deaths. The EU is
actually building a new large road network and allowing the weight of
heavy lorries to increase. Local transport needs are ignored whilst
commercial road transport is subsidised by the EU.

In 1998 the EU agreed proposals to reduce pollution from transport
fuels by the year 2000 with tougher vehicle emission limits from 2005. The
powerful oil industry lobbied the EU until the final watered-down
agreement satisfied their requirements at the expense of the citizens of
Europe. Moves towards a carbon/energy tax have encountered similar
opposition.

Air transportation produces by far the highest pollution per passenger
mile. The lack of excise duty on aviation fuel effectively subsidies this
heavy polluter and makes flying cheaper than taking the train in Europe.

The EU is building a huge energy network to link the national grids of
member states. This will undermine moves towards local combined heat and
power schemes and renewable energy schemes and conceal our dependency on
nuclear power. We are leaving future generations a legacy of nuclear waste
which even the industry itself doesn't know how to dispose of. The May
1996 Euratom (96/29) Directive now allows low-level radioactive waste to
be recycled into consumer goods! The official EU aim of 50% recycling and
reuse for paper, glass and plastics is not being supported by its member
states. The EU's new Waste Strategy evaluates material recycling above
incineration, but still fails to recognise the value of prevention and
reuse.

Our solution: make the polluter pay

Greens want to see freight transport shifted from road and air to rail
and water by replacing road subsidies with investment in public transport
and canals. Green MEPs are needed to fight any attempts to weaken the
European Parliament's current proposals to reduce the health risks from
fuels, especially diesel.

Greens will push for the introduction of a carbon/energy tax and an
excise duty on aviation fuel. All EU financial assistance towards the
construction of airports and highways must stop. The funding for EU energy
networks must be switched to energy conservation and the development of
renewable energy.

All nuclear power stations must be closed down. The Euratom Treaty must
be revised to oversee decommissioning and to protect worker safety. The
recycling of radioactive waste into consumer goods and its dumping into
rivers must be banned.

In 1995 the European Parliament met the calls of Green MEPs to halve
ozone smog levels. As a result, emissions from new cars will have to be
cut to 30% of current levels by 2005 and this year the Commission will
propose a tightening of the current Directive. During the next revision of
Air Pollutants Directives Green MEPs will fight for sulphur, nitrogen
oxide and particulate emissions to be reduced to 10%-30% of current
levels.

Green MEPs propose the reinstatement of the 50% target for recycling
and reuse of plastics and the introduction of a proper waste management
hierarchy, i.e. first prevention, then reuse, then recycling and
biological conversion, rather than incineration and landfill.

The European Parliament is directly elected but the real power lies
with unelected officials. This results in a lack of accountability.

Remote and unaccountable

Few people understand how the EU works or what decisions are being
taken on their behalf. It is remote and closed.

In many ways the unelected and unaccountable European Commission is
more powerful than the elected European Parliament. The recent controversy
over mismanagement and fraud, which led to the resignation of the whole
Commission, demonstrated the inevitable outcome of this total lack of
accountability. The Commission has lost the trust of ordinary people.

Greens seek co-operation throughout Europe to set minimum standards on
areas of common concern. We do not support the current push towards
standardisation (or 'harmonisation' as it is officially known). However
strong a member state's legislation may be, there will be times when it
could be overturned in this push for standardisation. This would lead in
many cases to reductions in human, civil and animal rights, and the
weakening of environmental standards.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has wide-ranging powers and is
accepted in the UK as a superior court in those areas specified by EU
treaties. It also allows individuals to appeal on points of EU law. The
Court, however, has strayed into areas which would be better dealt with by
national courts.

Our solution: consent of the people

Greens propose that the powers and competencies of the EU be defined
precisely in a new European Treaty, approved by referendum. This would go
some way towards the EU regaining the respect of its people.

Greens have always called for a restriction on the political role of
the unelected Commission. The Comm-ission should simply give
administrative support to the EU, draft the annual budget, submit new
legislation, implement expenditure decisions, and supply factual
information on the activities and policies of the EU. The Commission
should act as a neutral civil servant. The European Parliament must have
the right to initiate legislation and appoint and dismiss Commissioners
individually, helping to eliminate fraud and inefficiency. The ECJ needs a
statute which defines and limits its powers. Judges must be appointed by
the European Parliament. Appointments must be based on experience and
knowledge of European Law.

Greens support the introduction of a People's Initiative which would
require the European Parliament to consider proposals put forward by a
sufficient number of people from at least five member states.

EU policies are often driven by self-interest rather than a desire for
real stability and co-operation. They often harm the poorest countries,
promote dangerous security policies, and disregard our neighbours in
Central and Eastern Europe.

Exploiting developing countries

The economies of many developing countries are collapsing under the
burden of foreign debt. The poorest are always hit hardest. Under
structural adjustment programmes enforced by creditor nations, scarce
resources are channelled away from public spending and into debt
repayments. Reduced public spending often means drastic cuts in
healthcare, education and family planning support, all of which further
exacerbate the problem of poverty.

In an attempt to manage the debt, land is given over to cash crops for
export rather than food for local communities. Instead of strengthening
these vulnerable local economies, the EU's strategy is all too often
guided by the desire to prise open developing country markets for EU
goods. At the same time the EU protects its own markets with tough tariffs
on many of the most significant exports from those same developing
countries.

While EU aid policy clearly states that the participation of local
communities is essential, in practice the reality is often all too
different. Many EU aid schemes still create large projects which are
designed with little understanding of the needs of the local people.

Our solution: promote self-reliant
economies

Greens are determined to tackle the inequalities that exist throughout
the world. Green MEPs will push the EU to bring pressure on member states,
the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to write off the debt
of the poorest countries.

Greens will work to ensure that the EU withdraws its export subsidies,
particularly on agricultural produce, which currently undermine the
economies of many developing countries. Instead, we will promote policies
to increase the food security of the poorest countries. Long-term food aid
should be phased out and emergency food purchased from regions as near to
the affected area as possible, thereby strengthening local and regional
economies.

Future development aid should go to sustainable, community-led
projects, in particular those which target the primary needs of women and
children. Measures to increase girls' and women's access to education and
strengthen their status and self-determination are essential.

The poorest countries must be given preferential access to EU markets
until their own economies are much stronger. Greens believe that all low
income countries willing to meet basic social and environmental standards
should be given access to an enhanced European Development Fund (under the
Lom? Convention).

Structural adjustment programmes should be redesigned to benefit the
poorest communities and to ensure that the costs of adjustment are borne
by those in a position to pay.

War and insecurity

We now live in a world of ever increasing insecurity and conflict. Many
of these conflicts result from economic inequalities, ethnic tensions, and
scarcity of resources such as land, water and oil. Scarcity is likely to
increase as populations grow and exploitation of the natural environment
accelerates. The EU treaties provide a framework for foreign policy and
military co-operation known as the Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP).
The recent Amsterdam Treaty provides for a new Department of Foreign
Affairs and the creation of a Foreign Minister who would speak for (but be
unaccountable to) the people of Europe.

Peaceful external relations should be of paramount concern for all the
countries of Europe. It will not always be possible to reach consensus in
all aspects of foreign policy. Europe is simply too diverse and the
historical obligations of member states differ too widely.

Our solution: peace and co-operation

Greens believe that the UK should play a positive part in developing
and implementing a consensual and common approach to foreign policy in the
EU. However, Greens reject all attempts to develop and implement formal
foreign policy in areas where no consensus is possible.

The CFSP should seek to encourage co-operation and resource sharing
between potential enemies and encourage disarmament at every opportunity.
The CFSP structure must be changed to make it more accountable and senior
CFSP appointments must be confirmed by the European Parliament. The EU
must strive to protect the world by reducing and controlling the arms
trade. The EU must reject any attempt to make it into a military
superpower. Greens oppose any Eurobomb nuclear capability.

There are times when a peace- keeping role is necessary. However, we
oppose the creation of a European Army which would lack the necessary
peacekeeping skills. The EU should concentrate on defence which is truly
defensive and be discouraged from external military action. Consequently,
the EU must not adopt the Western European Union (WEU) as its military arm
nor become the European pillar of NATO. The existing Organisation for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a better way of developing
peace across Europe. Unlike the EU or NATO, the OSCE includes all European
countries and, unlike the WEU, it actively seeks consensus and is not
dominated by the richer countries.

The OSCE is keen to demonstrate the value of openness and transparency
in building mutual confidence. It encourages governments and others to
work together on problems within an area rather than simply sending in
troops to repel a perceived threat.

'Fortress Europe'

The recent Amsterdam Treaty paved the way for greater co-operation in
the EU on areas including crime, asylum and refugee issues. With this has
come a reduction in cross border checks between member states but, at the
same time, tougher security arrangements have been introduced. These
arrangements, known as the Schengen Convention, are a serious threat to
the civil liberties of us all. Schengen aims to counteract the opening of
internal borders by introducing much stricter surveillance of people
inside the EU, and much tougher policing of its external borders. EU
citizens could be required at any time to provide proof that they are EU
citizens. These arrangements discriminate against those ethnic minorities
perceived as 'non-European'.

The Schengen Convention fails to understand the diverse histories of
member states. It neither recognises the distinction between land and sea
borders nor the different nature of traffic across each. Schengen ignores
the needs of those states on the periphery of the EU on which the
principal burden of external border control falls.

Greens welcome the opening of internal borders but do not wish to see
this lead to a 'Fortress Europe'. At a time of widespread conflict and
abuse of human rights, we have a responsibility towards refugees and those
who seek asylum. Europe must not become a closed and intolerant society.

Europol, the EU's policing arm, has been given powers which no national
police force is allowed to have. We fear the creation of another
increasingly powerful and accountable body. All Europol is obliged to do
is present a yearly report to the European Parliament. Such a powerful
organisation needs to be democratically controlled.

Our solution: tolerance and asylum

Greens are fully committed to shared development, open borders, diverse
cultures and the eradication of racism. All residents of the EU must have
the same level of rights. We must not have Europe-wide identity cards
forced upon us. Greens will defend the rights of any country to stay
outside the Schengen Convention and we will resist any attempts through
Schengen or Europol to reduce the rights of any group. We are opposed to
the use of the Schengen Information Service (SIS) database which keeps
track of people and their vehicles. It undermines civil liberties by
evading accountability for and scrutiny of the information it holds.

There is no need for a common EU border and migration policy as
separate national policies allow countries to meet their differing
historic obligations to migrants. Greens oppose the Dublin Convention,
which prevents residents of one member state from applying to other member
states for asylum, and prevents refugees and asylum seekers from applying
to more than one EU country. Europol fails to offer sufficient safeguards
to protect the individual. It is remote, secretive and unaccountable to
the people of the EU. The role of Europol must return to the distribution
of information and to the building of co-operation between national police
forces. Surveillance must remain the role of national forces. Cross border
organised crime must be combated through the co-operation of national
police forces and not through Europol or any other unaccountable body.

Expansion of the EU

The first half of the 20th century saw much instability and conflict in
Europe. It was hoped that, if countries could be brought together in a
European Union (EU) on issues of common interest, mutual trust and
understanding would grow and Europe might avoid another world war.

Currently the EU has 15 member states and is looking to expand into
Central and Eastern Europe. The first wave of expansion involves Poland,
the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus.

However, inappropriate western market reforms have left the economies
of Central and Eastern Europe in disarray. The standard of living for many
has declined sharply while social protection has been swept away. Instead
of providing expertise and investment to Central and Eastern European
countries, western companies have exploited their cheap labour, cheap
natural resources and low environmental standards.

Furthermore, current EU expansion negotiations are unfair. Applicant
countries are being forced to free up their markets to allow EU companies
to dump surpluses. The economies of these countries are then further
wrecked as the EU imposes tariff barriers on their exports.

Our solution: good neighbours

We must strive to be good neighbours to the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe. Membership of the EU should be open to any democratic
European state which meets certain criteria. A referendum must be held by
that country and the people's assent given before membership can take
place. New members must have a free press, an independent judiciary,
commitment to environmental standards at least equal to those of the EU,
civilian control of the military, and be at peace both outside and within
their borders.

Greens believe that a transition period of a few years is required to
protect the fragile local economies of new members. Financial help should
go towards encouraging the setting up of local production and markets,
rather than the transportation of goods over long distance. Countries need
to be self-reliant rather than simply suppliers of cheap goods to the
richer parts of the EU. The EU provides assistance to Eastern and Central
Europe and former Soviet states through TACIS and PHARE programmes. These
should be used to protect the environment and promote economic
self-reliance.

The governing statutes of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) should be changed, giving priority to environmental
protection and enhancement. The bank must be allowed to provide loans for
public sector infrastructure projects. The potential environmental impact
of the bank's activities needs to be made far more public.

Central and Eastern Europe has a legacy of unsafe and badly maintained
nuclear reactors. The EU has a responsibility to use its expertise to
decommission nuclear reactors safely. Western firms must not be permitted
to build any new reactors. Greens want to see investment in safe and
renewable forms of energy and support for energy conservation.

Meeting our needs

Ill-conceived government policies have encouraged the poisoning of our
food by unnatural farming practices, the pollution of our waters, the
impoverishment of developing countries by impossible debts, and now
threaten our very existence through climate change. Let's face it, the old
approach doesn't even meet our basic needs.

In this manifesto we have explained what is wrong with the
unsustainable policies of the EU and how they affect every part of our
daily lives. We have also shown you that there are practical solutions to
these problems - Green solutions.

The UK's record in Europe

The Conservatives have always been willing to surrender national
sovereignty when it suited big corporations or the Single Market, but
objected when it might do something for Europe's people or its
environment. The Lib Dems enthusiastically promote the Single Currency
despite all its inherent dangers, and have often voted against Green MEPs'
environmental proposals.

New Labour used the UK presidency of the EU to make many empty
promises: there would be reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP);
air quality would improve; EU foreign policy would become ethical; jobs
would be easier to find. What actually happened under New Labour:

the CAP remains a costly disaster

industrialists have been allowed to drastically water down
regulations on air quality

over 50 export licences to Indonesia for arms supplies have been
approved since May 1997

the EU has failed to encourage much meaningful job creation, leaving
unemployment well over 10%.

The UK Government has failed to deal with the real issues in Europe.
Its concentration on economic competition has not delivered a safe and
healthy environment, or secure and constructive work, or a fair society.
It has failed to see the positive role the EU could play as an
ecologically sustainable and socially just region.

The Greening of society has begun

We depend upon a fragile, natural world of which humans are only a
small part. It is insane to damage the very ecosystems that we depend on.
Many of you share this view and are working towards the agenda we set more
than 25 years ago, but more is needed. It is vital that we change the way
the world is run. We need to see more Greens elected to and influencing
all levels of government. At grassroots level, local people are forcing
the UK Government to respond to local needs. Government policy is
beginning to promote environmental sustainability in areas such as
transport and air quality. A Green vote will accelerate such changes.

In local government, Green councillors are pushing Green planning and
transport solutions up the political agenda and were the first to defend
the rights of school children to be given food free of genetically
modified ingredients. In the UK Parliament, the Green Party has
co-authored and financially supported three Bills. The Home Energy
Conservation Act and two Acts on Road Traffic Reduction are now law.

There are Green MPs in 17 European countries. The Green Party is a
partner in government coalitions in France, Germany, Poland, Finland,
Georgia and Italy. When you join us, you join a movement that is
established and growing throughout Europe and world-wide.

Ten reasons to vote Green

Green votes count: For the first time in the UK,
the voting system for this election is Proportional Representation. So
this time, you can vote for what you believe in and get Green MEPs
elected!

Green MEPs fight unemployment: By reducing average
working hours; creating work in useful activities like social care,
energy conservation and public transport; and protecting employee
rights for those in full and part-time work.

Green Taxes are fair taxes: Green taxes ensure that businesses pay
the full costs when they needlessly pollute and support growth of the
renewable energy sector.

Green MEPs support natural farming: Until the safety of GM crops can
be guaranteed then they should be banned. EU agricultural subsidies
must be shifted away from intensive farming and instead give support
to safe organic methods.

The Green Party opposes UK membership of the Single Currency:
Decisions which affect people's livelihoods should be taken at as
local a level as possible. Green MEPs will ensure that the central
European Bank is made as democratically accountable as possible.

Greens seek the end of nuclear power: We are appalled by the long
list of deadly leaks and accidents from this dangerous industry.
Nuclear subsidies must stop and be replaced by support for clean
energy production and energy conservation.

Green MEPs promote peace: We do not want the proposed EU army nor a
Eurobomb nuclear capability. We would instead invest in a peace corp
skilled in peacekeeping, nuclear disarmament, and the control of the
evil European arms trade industry.

Greens demand compassion in farming: We believe that animals have
rights and are not industrial products. Animals are sentient creatures
and must be treated as such. We support the Farm Animal Welfare
Charter of the CIWF.

Green MEPs defend the poorest countries: Their international debts
must be written off quickly so that they can make a fresh start. The
Green Party is a member of Jubilee 2000.

Green MEPs make a vital difference: There are already 27 Green MEPs
from 8 countries in the European Parliament. They have led the way on
key issues such as pollution control, climate change, the
transportation of live animals, and in exposing corruption and
incompetence in the Commission.